labeled heretics. From Syria and Persia, Nestorian missionaries penetrated into Central Asia and China by the 7th century

Church in India

Mar Thoma
Today, the Indian state of Kerala has some 7 million “Thomas Christians,” divided among Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox traditions

Justin Martyr

(100-165)-headed a Christian school in Rome

Writings of Justin Martyr

First and Second Apologies
Dialogue with Trypho the Jew

Theophilus

(late 2nd cent.) – Bishop of Antioch

Writings of Theophilus

Apology-its purpose was to set before the pagan world the Christian idea of God and the superiority of the doctrine of Creation over the immoral myths of the Olympian religion.

Athenagoras

(late 2nd cent.)-“The Christian philosopher of Athens

Writings of Athenagoras

Supplication—addressed to the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus to try to gain an audience with the emperor when he passed through Athens, sought to rebut current charges against the Christians: Atheism, incest and cannibalism.

Before 250 persecution

mainly local, sporadic, and more often the result of mob action or accusations made for economic gain than the result of definite civil policy

“the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

Tertullian

Christians were a perceived threat to Rome because (6)

a. they claimed that their religion was the only true one
b. Christianity had a universal appeal that threatened the universal sovereignty of Rome.
c. Christians were aggressive proselytizers.
d. Christians refused to worship Emperor
e. Christians were aloof from society—games, festivals.
f. they met in secret and so were accused of cannibalism, atheism and sexual misconduct. (kiss of peace)(brother/sister).

a. Millennial celebration – sparks a revival in the gods.
b. Decius wants to root out the church.
c. Had to sacrifice to gods-receive Libblii
d. What to do with Christian who sacrificed to gods?

2. Diocletion Persecution (303-311)

a. “Vicar of Jupitar”
b. wanted to reinstate gods to bring back glory to Rome.
c. Four edicts:
1. all churches destroyed
2. all Bible burned
3. all public office and civil rights deprived to Christians
4. all had to sacrifice to gods.
d. the number of apostates and martyrs is very great.

Results of Persecution

1.Their witness gains the admiration of the people.
2.Penitential system begins
3.cult of saints and martyrs.
4.The last persecution is revelation of size of church – Constantine –Edict of Milan in 313AD recognizing Christianity as a legal religion

second great epidemic (Date)

around 260,

Examples of Christian Love and Character

1. No distinction between Christians and other men
2. Height of 2nd Epidemic love to sick
3. Emperor Julian campaign to match Xn charity
4. Prohibited all forms of infanticide and abortion
5. Rejected double standard for sex.

Gnosticism: Main teachers

Valentinus, Basilides and Marcion

Gnosis

revealed knowledge of God and
origin and destiny of mankind which the spiritual element in man could receive redemption
one journeys from the material realm to the spiritual realm

a. Demiurge
b. The demiurge created a world imperfect
c. the spiritual element to be rescued from the evil material
d.Sets dualistic system.

Gnosticism understanding of Christ

a. Christ brought the gnosis from the Supreme God.
b. Christ either assumed the body of the man Jesus, or was docetic.

Gnosticism Anthropology
Three types of men:

1. Spiritual-only the “spiritual men” are given the gnosis
2. Psychics—(Christians are a part of this group) will go to lower realm of pleroma.
3. Fleshly—the rest of humanity is unspiritual and is destined to eternal perdition.

Principle anti-Gnostic writers

Irenaeus and Tertullian

Gnostic brought clear definitions of these 5

1.Doctrine of God
2.Doctrine of Man
3.Doctrine of Person of Christ
4.Doctrine of Redemption
5.Doctrine of Authority

Marcion date

140 AD

Marcion view of OT & NT

the law and the gospel, are absolutely distinct.

Marcion heretical points

1.Two Gods
2.NT & OT are absolutely distinct
3.Christ did not defile himself with the body of the demiurge, but assumed an apparent body.

Marcion’s N.T

revised Gospel of Luke and ten emended letters of Paul

Marcionite controversy led to 2 doctrines

the Creator and the Redeemer are the same God, and that in God justice and mercy are combined.

Rule of Faith

The Rule was a summary of the teaching presented

Council of Nicea Date

325AD

Heresy that provoked Council of Nicea

Arianism

Arianism definition

states that Jesus Christ was not true God and that he had an entirely different nature, neither eternal nor omnipotent. He was a lesser god or being, not the eternal and changeless God.
appealed to the Gnostic

Major opponents against Arianism

Bishop Alexander, Athanasius

Friend of Arius

Eusebius of Nicomedia

Result of Council of Nicea

a.Logos to Son
b.“Only-begotten” not adopted
c.“life from life” to “true God from true God.”
d.“came down” is added.
e.“was made man” –Christ is true man, true God.

Christians do not attend the shows
Christians responsibility for the poor
Modest attire is required

Catechetical School leaders in 3rd century at Alexandria

Clement and Origen

who wrote -“…philosophy was given to the Greeks directly and primarily, till the Lord should call the Greeks. For this was a schoolmaster to bring ‘the Hellenic mind,” as the law, the Hebrews, “to Christ.”

Clement

(Apostolic Father) Clement, Bishop of __________

Rome

“the bishop is nothing less than God’s representative to the congregation.” “It is obvious, therefore, that we must regard the bishop as the Lord himself.”

Ignatius

Ignatius, Bishop of ______

Antioch

Apostolic Fathers promoted Ante-Nicene Theology w/ 3 characteristics

1. Rigorist Christianity
2. The increasing power of the Bishop.
3. Eucharist becoming a sacrament of grace.

“in this conquer”
He then replaced the pagan standards of his troops with a new Christian sign.

Constantine captures Rome date

312 AD

Edict of Milan

guaranted freedom of religious practice in lands under Constantine's rule.

Constantine’s First Reforms

1. soldiers could attend church on Sundays
2- Bishops accompanied him wherever he went
3. restoration Christian property
4. treasury used build churches
5.elevate Christianity to privileged position
6.abolished crucifixion
7. divorce and remarriage more difficult
8.Edict of Milan

who is Licinius?

Emperor of East ally w/ Constantine for ten years
conquered by Constantine 324 when he began to persecute Christians

Speech to the Assembly of the Saints

Constantine confesses obligatin to convert empire

Constantine’s Second Reforms

a.Christian exiles may return home.
b.All property and wealth restored.
c.All honors and seats of authority are returned.
d.new churches to be built,
Paid by imperial funds.
e.Forbade consultation of new pagan oracles
f.Pagans allowed to keep temples & practice religion continued to subsidize
g.prohibited attacks on Christians (Porphyry’s Against the Christians is to be burned.
h.Sunday legal day of rest
i.major Episcopal appointments under emperor’s scrutiny.
j.Bishops close advisors to Constantine furthering connection between church & state.

Arian proof text

Proverbs 8:22
"The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old."

Arius famous quote

“There was when the Son was not.”

Arianism was a response to what other heresy

Modalism

Modalism

reduced Father, Son and Holy Spirit to three modes or aspects of God and implied patrpassianism—the idea that the Father suffered on the cross.

homoiousios

affirm the more moderate assertion that the Logos was of a similar substance with the Father and fully united with the flesh of Jesus.

homoousios

Constantine himself proposed that the new creed include the affirmation that the Son is homoousios—one substance—with the Father—that they share all the same essential attributes of deity

Confessions

Augustine's powerful and psychological look into personal conversion

Manichaeism, principles of

1. Dualistic
2. Matter is bad, Spirit is good. (Gnostic)
3. source of evil not God’s creation but misuse of human free will
4.Christ was not born, never became a man, and never died.
5.the object of the practice of religion was to release the particles of light
6. To achieve this release, severe asceticism, including vegetarianism was practiced

Pelagianism

if God commands us to live right, then we have the ability to do it.
a. Denied Original Sin and depravity
b. Our disadvantage is living in a sinful world.
c. More likely to acquire sinful habits. The problem is social, not inherent within us.
d. Thus, we are able to live perfect lives by the right exercise of our wills.

Augustine's major contribution to doctrine

original sin.

major elements original sin.

a. Depraved
b. Incapable of doing good without supernatural help
c. God’s commands are there to show us our inability.
d. So that we see our need for God’s grace and mercy.

Donatist

any Bishop who had compromised with paganism during the last great persecution (Diocletian) did not have the purity to consecrate other church leaders

compromised bishop opposed by Donatists

Felix

“What has the Emperor to do with the Church?”

Bishop Donatus

Augustine’s arguments for use of force against Donatists

a.Romans 13:1-7-Government has the right to crush heresies and schismatics
b.Matt. 13:24-30if you know who the “tares” are you can uproot them
c.Luke 14: 21-23-The great feast. “Compel them to come in.”
e. most famous statement, “There is an unjust persecution which the wicked inflict on the Church of Christ, and a just persecution which the Church of Christ inflicts on the wicked.”

Augustine was bishop of

Hippo

Augustine dates

354-430

Adeodatus

Augustine's son

Sin consists, as a matter of course, only in the separate acts of the will. There is no thing as a sinful character or a sinful nature. Otherwise, sin would not be sin—not something which can be avoided; and God could not charge sin to our account as guilt and punish it.

Pelagianism

God has commanded man to do that which is good; he must, therefore, have the ability to do it. That is to say, man is free, it is possible for him to decide for or against that which is good.

Pelagianism

“I say that man is able to be without sin…but I do not say that man is without sin.”

Pelagianism

1.posse non peccare
2.posse peccare
3.non posse peccare

1.power not to sin
2.power to sin
3.unable to sin

Augustine’s doctrine of grace

Grace, as being irresistible, is characterized by Augustine as predestinating grace Grace heals and restores the free will, so that it is able to freely choose the good.

Cassian

Semi-Pelagianism or Semi-Augustinians.
The idea of Cassian is, that the human will has indeed been crippled by sin, but that a certain freedom has yet remained to it. Hence the sinner is not dead, but wounded.

Semi-Pelagianism or Semi-Augustinians principles

that we are unable to do anything good without the help of God, and that the freedom of the will must be preserved. From this it follows that grace and free will cooperate

Catholic conclusion to Augustinev Pelagianism

“grace alone” came off victorious; but the Augustinian doctrine of predestination was abandoned.

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